Sensex crashes 1,416 points amid weak global cues, Nifty ends at 15,809

NEW DELHI: Equity indices plunged on Thursday tracking an extremely weak trend in the global markets.
The 30-share BSE index crashed 1,416 points or 2.61 per cent to close at 52,792. While, the broader NSE Nifty settled 431 points or 2.65 per cent at 15,809.
IT and metal index were the worst hit with Wipro, HCL Tech, Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra were the top losers in the sensex pack falling as much as 6.21 per cent.
ITC, Dr Reddy's and Power Grid were the only stocks that finished in green.
On the NSE platform too all sub-indices finished lower with Nifty IT, Metal, Media falling as much as 5.74 per cent.
Domestic indices tracked weak trends in global markets as investors dumped riskier assets on fears that soaring inflation would hurt corporate earnings and spark an economic slowdown.
Markets globally have also come under pressure from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the supply chain crisis which has been worsened by China's zero-Covid policy.
Despite a brief recovery earlier this week, both BSE and NSE have declined nearly 7 per cent so far this month.
"The domestic market has resumed a downtrend taking cues from our global counterparts, US markets specifically," Ajit Mishra, vice president, research at Religare Broking told news agency Reuters.
He cited the expectations of aggressive of monetary policy tightening to combat unruly price pressures as a drag on sentiment.
Barring Shanghai, other Asian markets also ended lower, with Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo settling in the red.
Stock markets in the US had ended deep in the red on Wednesday.
"US markets saw the worst sell-off since June 2020 as inflation fear looms," Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities told PTI.
Persistent foreign fund outflows also continue to dampen sentiment.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth a net Rs 1,254.64 crore on Wednesday, as per stock exchange data.
"Deteriorating macro sentiments such as soaring inflation, recession fears, and the prospect of the Federal Reserve getting even more hawkish will continue to keep benchmarks on the edge.
"Another main reason for the pessimism can be attributed to relentless selling from the FII camp," said Prashanth Tapse, vice-president (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.
(With inputs from global markets)